La Belle Epoque
by aruvqan
Summary: A romantic dinner on the run.


La Belle Epoque [My universe's version of the dinner in s/12363125/38/Stephanie-Plum-FTA]

As evening rolled around, Ranger and Steph exited I95 in Old Saybrook and ended their journey at a rambling house on the waterfront. Getting out of the car, Ranger circled around to open and help Steph out. She stopped and inhaled a huge lungful of sea air, smelling salt water, seaweed and fish, and hearing the slap of water against the pilings of a quai and dock.

Popping the back of the SUV open, Ranger grabbed their luggage and headed in to check in with the owner. Steph looking around saw a sign - La Belle Epoque Bed and Breakfast, apparently owned by an A. Myers. The sign looked vintage, all swirls.

"La Belle Epoque was the last great hurrah of French culture before WW1" Ranger commented. "This house was built in 1890, and the style is called Art Nouveau." He opened the door and ushered Steph in.

"Welcome, welcome! Come on in Carlos!" the woman in the white coat and black check pants bustled in from a door just past the grand staircase in the entry of the house. "This must be your lovely Babe!" She thrust a slightly floury hand out, pulled Steph in and gave her a strong hug. "Dinner will be as soon as you get your things upstairs and meet me back in the kitchen.'

"Chef's table?" asked Ranger.

"Of course, we have no other guests so I let the rest of the staff go this evening. Now hurry, up the stairs, to the right, the Lalique room. Scoot" She snapped her towel at Ranger and nailed him precisely on his right bum cheek. He laughed and ushered Steph up the stairs. Finding the right room, he dropped their bags and stretched while Steph made her way to the bathroom and freshened up after the drive. As they descended the stairs, Steph started sniffing, fascinated at the smells coming from the kitchen.

Pushing the swinging door open, Ranger ushered Steph in to be met by a bustling woman, a bit shorter than Steph, soft and motherlike, bustling around the kitchen "Sit, sit, sit - best table in the house. At least tonight that is." A small table for four, with two places set and another place with glasswareesat, a small menu card sitting by each plate. Ranger helped Steph into her seat and went around and sat in his seat. They both picked up the menu cards and read them. Steph grumped "Great, yet another place I can't read the menu."

Ranger snickered. "We are having a spring soup, a salad with dried fruit and candied walnuts, baked fish and espresso pots de creme - a sort of custard." Aruvqan bustled over and placed a basket of freshly baled sourdough bread and a small pot of butter. Steph took a slice and buttered it.

Tasting the simple bread and butter while Aru dished up the soup, she moaned. "This is the best butter I have ever had ... what is the secret?"

"I get all the dairy for the place from a local farmer. The man has Guernsey cows - their milk has a serious amount of butterfat, so when I separate out the cream and churn it into butter it beats the grocery store stuff by a mile. He grazes his cows on grass instead of just feeding them hay and grain. He also doesn't use antibiotics and has them inspected once a month by a vet to make sure thye are very healthy." Placing the bowls of soup onto the chargers in front of Steph and Ranger, she grabs a pitcher of ice water and fills the large goblets in front of each place. She puts it back in the fridge and pulls out a small bottle of St-Germaine cordial and a bottle of champagne, and into the flute at each seat she combines equal parts. "The St-Germaine is an elderflower cordial, it pairs well with the chapmagne. I want to make your evening as special as I can to welcome the woman that tamed Carlos." She giggles lightly as she picks up the flute, "To Carlos' Babe, a woman in a million. Salut!"

Sitting down, she sips the cocktail as Ranger and Steph start in on the soup. Steph closes her eyes and heaves a sigh - in this kitchen, run by a stranger, she feels more at home than she ever did in the Burg with her mother. Aru gets up, and takes away the now empty bowls. She brings over and places a pair of salads, and a cruet of a dark rich looking dressing.

"Aru, this is amazing. Thank you." Ranger sat back and watched Steph close her eyes and concentrate on the flavors in her salad. "I can't believe that you haven't made it onto one of thtraveling gourmet shows touting your fantastic food."

Aru looked grumpy, "I refuse to let them film me, I noticed that every place they put on TV gets overbooked and the food quality starts going down hill. I would rather keep my word of mouth advertising and the quality of my cooking." She gets up and clears the salads. She pops open one of the ovens, and using a pair of heavy gloves she pulls out a baking sheet with a strange bundle on it. She slides the bundle onto an oval platter, brings it over to the table and sets it down. She bustles off and returns with a bottle of white wine. Pouring the wine into the next glass, she clears the flutes. With a little bit of flair, she slits open the cooking parchement to reveal a steaming filet of a white fish nextled in a bed of julienne vegetables and topped with thin slices of lemon. She deftly places a portion onto each plat eand places it onto the chargers. Sitting down, she sips her water.

"This is amazing!" said Steph around a mouthful of cod. "I hate vegetables, but these are wonderful. How did you make this!"

Aru wipes her face and explains "I saute the veggies in butter to carmelize them, then I wrap everything up in the cooking paper, add some thyme and crushed pepper, some slices of lemon and some slices of my butter. I just bake it until it is done. I think you are liking the sweetness that carmelizing the sugars in the vegetables. The butter and lemon help all the flavors blend together."

"Reaty for dessert?" Aru asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Eagerly, Steph relied "Hell yes! Your cooking is amazing."

"When Carlos made reservations and asked for a special dinner, I decided to make mocha pots de creme, a sort of egg custard pudding thing. Not really made frequently, in my opinion. Everybody gets fixated of creme brulee, and most places use a box mix to make it with." Aru deftly cleared the plates and chargers, dropping off small demitasse cups, very small wine glasses and a pair of spoons. Next trip, she brought over a pair of small dessert cups with a dark custard inside. Turning arround, she grabbed a small bowl of whipped cream and a small bowl of a chocolatey looking sauce. "I like mine with whipped cream and some chocolate syrup, but fix yours how you like." She turned around in a circle again, appearing with a small bottle of wine and an espresso pot. "Qady Vinyards in California makes excellent dessert wines, this one goes well with the mocha pots.

Ranger watches Steph dig in to her dinner. "Thanks for the perfect dinner Aru, I will never understand how you manage to figure out the perfect meal for someone."

"God given talent, I'm ...special...that way," Aru giggles.

Steph mutters "And I bet you know a guy named Diesel too ..."

"Pardon?" asked Aruvqan

"Nothing, just thinking out loud."

"Well, it is late, and I will let you two go, we can catch up on gossip on another visit." Aru putters around in the kitchen, cleaning up and closing it down as Ranger helps Steph stand.

"Thanks, Aru - you are an absolute genius, and your place is the oasis right when we needed it."

Aru waves genially on their direction as she hipchecks the dishwasher closed and turns it on. The gentle rumble follows Ranger and Steph up the stairs.

fin

...  
Potage Printanier a la Francaise

yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

3 tbsp butter

2 cups chopped cauliflower

1 cup fresh peas

1 cup chopped spinach

2 sliced carrots

2 leeks

1 chopped celeriac

2 quarts chicken stock

1 cup sherry wine or white wine of choice

2 sliced tomatoes, peeled and chopped

pinch mixed herbs (parsley, chervil and thyme)  
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute the above vegetables for 1 or 2 minutes, except the tomatoes

Add the chicken stock, sherry, peeled and chopped tomatoes, mixed herbs, salt and pepper. Cook the soup slowly, covered, over low-medium heat for about 1 hour. Stir from time to time and add more water if necessary. Let the soup sit for 10 minutes.

When ready to serve, add some more fresh finely chopped herbs. Serve hot.

Mocha Pots de Creme

yield: 8 servings [sorry, I used to work in a restaurant and this is the smallest I could cut the recipe down to.

Ingredients

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate

3 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1/4 c. packed dark brown sugar

1 pinch salt

1 c. whole milk

1 c. heavy cream

1/4 c. brewed espresso

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat kettle of water to boiling; remove from heat.

Place chocolate in small heatproof bowl.

In large bowl, whisk egg yolks, eggs, brown sugar, and salt until blended.

In 3-quart saucepan, heat milk and 1/2 cup cream on medium until bubbling. Pour enough over chocolate to cover; let stand.

Slowly whisk remaining hot milk into egg mixture.

Gently whisk chocolate mixture until smooth; pour into milk-egg mixture, while whisking, until smooth.

Whisk in brewed espresso and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Skim off and discard any bubbles or foam on surface of mixture.

Divide among 4-ounce ramekins or ovenproof cups; place in roasting pan, and put in oven.

Pour enough water from kettle into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil. Bake custards 25 to 30 minutes, until knife inserted halfway between edge and center of custard comes out clean.

Remove foil. Cool ramekins in pan on wire rack until warm; transfer to wire rack to cool. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 3 hours, or up to 3 days.

When ready to serve, in small bowl, stir espresso powder into remaining teaspoon vanilla until dissolved.

In large bowl, beat remaining 1/2 cup cream until thickened. Add granulated sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold in vanilla mixture. Dollop on top of custards and serve.


End file.
